CREJ - Property Management Quarterly - May 2015
As director of a leading global commercial real estate company’s property management group, overseeing Denver’s regional operations, I am often asked for reflections on the early years in my career. Back when I began my career in property management some 20 years ago, I had a wonderful tenant that challenged me as a manager and passed along a pearl of wisdom that I value to this day, “I appreciate you treating me as a paying guest instead of an inmate.” The expression gave me pause to think about the way I treated my tenants every day from then forward – always as paying guests. Over the years, I have realized a few valuable lessons that others would benefit from knowing as well. Care and feeding of each tenant is a critical aspect of successful property management. Like our health, if we are not diligent in our own care and feeding, we get tired, sluggish and complacent. As food is a basic need in Maslow’s theory, the care and feeding of property tenants should be as well – contact cannot be limited to the last nine months prior to lease expiration. Consider that renewing a current tenant is 25 percent of the cost of replacing a tenant. How tenants are treated by a property manager from before the lease signing and throughout tenancy has a significant impact on each tenant’s decision to stay. How service delivery is approached is as important as how often a tenant is contacted. Instead of saying no to a tenant request, a guest response would be, “I’m sure we can do this or a variation for you.” I encourage our managers to think of the service we provide to our tenants as a fivestar hotel concept; going above and beyond on politeness and over the top on service levels does not need to cost any more money. Thinking of tenants as guests, instead of tenants, changes our thought process and actions. Sometimes it is the little things that have a big impact. For example, lobby attendants stepping out from behind the desk to open doors or assist in transporting goods to the tenant’s space, or providing regular, specific contact by way of learning tenant names and greeting them individually. We encourage tenants to provide lobby attendants with names and photos of valued visitors. It is great to watch their face as they are greeted by name and escorted to the tenant’s suite. As a manager, taking a few days each month to do this will pay dividends. The guest courtesy makes a huge difference in tenant perception. It is important to take every chance to find opportunities to get out from behind the desk and practice the art of management by walking around. As we say in the property management business, “Expect what you inspect.” This requires walking tenant spaces, asking the tenants about the experience in the building and what could improve the experience. There are plenty of low-cost and no-cost opportunities that make a difference. Simply checking in is a great way to understand each tenant’s platform and the health of his business. Find ways to make tenants feel special. For example, budget for tenant lunches and tenant-relations programs or get to know birthdays and send a card to let them know you remember. Or track a tenant’s business news in the local journals and print media, clip the articles and forward with a handwritten note congratulating the tenant on their success.
Ask for input by professionals you admire. Do not be afraid to ask a co-worker to review the asset and give honest feedback from his perspective and from the perspective of a tenant or a visitor arriving at the building. How is the signage, both for pedestrians and automobiles? Are the tenants’ guests finding it easy to locate their destinations and find their cars when they leave? Directories should be up-todate, clean and presentable. In a different analogy, a building is like a garden – remember, if a garden is not cared for consistently, the weeds take over. Root out the weeds by sprinkling tenants with some professionalism, support and kindness, and watch the relationships grow. That value of the guest approach with tenants creates a richness of its own